Dust guard



och 1930. w. D. HAMERSTADT 1,779,624

DUST GUARD Filed Oct. 5, 1927 Patented Oct. 28, 1930,

UNITED STATES WILLIAM. D. HAMERSTADT, or mnrAlvArotrs, mnrma. As am: To'Rooxwoop MANUFACTURING COMPANY, or INDIANAPOLIS. INDIANA, A conroaarronnus r GUARD Application filed October 3,3927; s iiai no. 223,564.

This invention relates to an improved dust guard for axle journal boxes.

The chief object of this invention is to improve the construction ofdust guards of the general character such as disclosed in prior Patent N0. 1,57 4,968, granted March 2, 1926.

The chief feature of the invention consists in the construction of thedust guard such that it has a certain inherent resiliency coupled withrelatively great strength reducing breakage in mounting to the minimumand which, when mounted, is multiple sealing in character and which isself-draining and cleaning. V v

The full nature of the invention will be understood from theaccompanying drawings and the following description and claim:

In the drawings Fig. 1 is an elevational view of a truck axle wheeljournal and box, the ournal, box and dust guard being shown in sectionto illustrate the mounting of the invention. Fig. 2 is an enlargedperspectiveview of the dust guard. 'Fig. 3 is an enlarged transversesectional view of the same.

In the drawings is illustrated aconventional form ofaxle, wheel, journaland box. 10 indicates the axle, 11 the wheel, 12 the connecting portionbetween the wheel-supported portion and the journal-supported portion ofthe axle. The frame work of the truck carries the housing 14 having the010- sure 16, and said housing 14 includesthe axlereceiving opening 17which is defined by a groove orpocket 18 having mouth 19. All of theforegoing is old in the art and is the standard railway truckconstruction.

Dust guards have been mounted in the groove or pocket 18 beingpositioned therein thru the mouth 19 prior to the forcing of the axleinto the housing. Since the relative parts are such, the dust guardsmust wear rather than the associated wheel and supporting parts and thefunction of the dust guard is to prevent the entrance of dust and dirt,

nal and the journal end of the shaft which stead of cut, for forming theopfening2l. [A

would; pauseja hot box andburn out. the e g: .1 The improved dust; guardconsists of a pair ,ofspaced fibre sheets '20, and each is composed ofmaterial commonly known as fibre board such as, that suitable for fibrepulley purposes. Each includes ,a circular opening 21 and the punchingtherefrom, which is waste, is suitablefor the manufacture of fibre.orpaper pulleys. Each plate 20is a V composite homogeneous memberhaving a U-shaped exterior outline having a circular opening: 21,.thecenter. of which is not coincident with the center of the curved portionvof the U-shaped outline. The stock isYrela- ,tively thin and isapproximately oneQsixteenth to one-quarter inch inthicknesswith theusual limit'of, about one-eighth; inch} or less. This permits thematerial to be. punched. in-

punched openingleaves a free,lcleanhole and ,also leaves a relativelyclean j pe riphery on the blank, whichpas previously stated, can beused'in' the manufacture of fibre pulleys.

Thepocket 18 is normally three-quarters of an inch in width to receive afive-eighths inch dust guard, these requirements bein standard andrequired by the Master-Car fiuilders Association. Interpose'd "betweenthe two parallel lateseo'i a transverse spacing strip 22. Along theupper edge andi'extending along each parallelside of the U shaped dustguardarethe'longitudinal spacing strips 23. The result therefore isapocket 24spositione'd above'the'upper'halfofthe opening 21 with anoutlet or mouth 122 therebeneath and the side wall passages 25 (see Fig.2).

The advantages of the present construction arethat, when the axle-isinserted in the axlereceiving opening of the journal box, there is e00slight resiliency in the material and the same does not crack should theaxle be slightly askew. Furthermore, the longitudinal spacing strips 23,in addition to forming one wall of the channel, reinforces the dustguard atel5 its weakest point which is at the opposite por- 1 tionsapproximately determined by the projected diameters positionedperpendicularly to the longitudinal spacers 23. Thus breakage is reducedto a minimum as the fibrous 1 0 material will not shatter or fracture asis the case with wooden dust guards and will not break at the midsection by reason of the reinforcement provided.

5 In addition to the foregoing advantages, the resultant construction ofthe dust guard incures a double seal,that is, each plate 20 constitutesa single dust guard with the spacing strip 22 and the side strips 23,and would be sufficient for a normal operation and, there-v fore, bothplates insure multiple sealing.

In addition to the foregoing multiple sealing action, such dust and dirtthat passes thru the opening 21 of the first plate 20 or that positionednext to the wheel will, if carried around on the axle, be throwntherefrom into the chamber 24 and thence out thru the mouth 22 to thebottom of the pocket 18. Water and the like also which might work alongthe axle 12 will be trapped in the bottom of pocket 18 by the aforesaidconstruction and there thereby results a self-cleaning and self-drainingchambered dust guard for having the advantages of a multiple seal andlonger life, less 26 breakage in mounting and, in addition, having acost of manufacture not exceeding that of a standard wooden dust guard.The multiple plate dust guard also is reversible;

The invention claimed is:

' An open ended dust guard for truck axle journals and of somewhatrectangular outline but having one side of curved outline, comprising apair of relatively thin fibrous plates each having a circular openingsubstantially registering with the other and of the outline designated,and a plurality of spacing'and reinforcing members extending along allof the straight sides of'and between said members forming a chamber ofmaterially greater cross sectional area than the area of the circularopening as well as coextensive with said registering circular openingsand forming a single discharge duct between the plates and at the curvededges thereof, said discharge duct throughout its length being at leastas wide as said opening.

In Witness whereof, I have hereunto aflixed my signature.

WILLIAM D. HAMERSTADT.

